2012 Fisker Surf

Say Hello to the Future's Coolest Niche EV Segment

The idea behind Fisker's all-new Surf -- the brand's second production model, riding a wave into the 2011 Frankfurt auto show -- is simple, according to Henrik Fisker, founder and CEO of Fisker Automotive."(The Surf) is really a kind of merger of a sports car with a station wagon," Fisker said at a private media reveal just before Frankfurt. "The inspirations for me - in growing up - were cars like the Jensen Interceptor and the Lamborghini Espada. They were super-cool sports cars that you could actually imagine living with and fitting a little bit of luggage and some people into."

While using a sports car on a daily basis may not be a totally original idea, Fisker's creative spin on it is. With the Surf, he and his team melded utility, style, and eco-friendliness into a package fit for affluent buyers living active lifestyles. The car's name is a direct reflection of the company's Southern California roots, a place Fisker calls international, innovative, and multicultural."I think over the years there have been many different concepts, and of course, most lately, Ferrari came out with the FF. But I kind of wanted to take a different look at it in thinking: If you really want to make it useful, you really need four doors. So it is a shooting brake or sport wagon with five doors, really. The idea is you can drive a sporty-looking car that's radically different, but you can also fit some luggage and some people into it."

In the flesh, the Surf's long, lithe physique is intriguing. This may be the first instance when the ubiquitous "unlike anything else" PR slogan so aptly applies. The Surf draws from the brand's Karma flagship in nearly all styling and technical aspects, and its body's uncomplicated curves and chiseled lines flow to create a simple, bold, muscular shape. (There is no "surface kung fu," as VP of global design Alex Pratt quipped.) It's particularly bulbous at the rump, and we're not complaining. At some angles you can find hints of natural inspiration -- rattlesnakes, shark rays, leaping big cats, and undulating waves were just a few that immediately came to mind.The extended roofline amplifies the Surf's length, width, and low ride height, but in reality, the 124.4-inch wheelbase and most other dimensions are nearly identical to those of the Karma. (Exact numbers haven't been revealed.) Weight as a result of the new hatch and standard tilting glass panorama roof grows by 77 pounds to an estimated 4177 pounds. A solar panel roof can be had as an option, and is expected to be lighter than the glass. Of course, the Surf's coefficient of drag suffers slightly when compared to the Karma, yet its efficiency and range remain the same, Fisker says.According to the executive, the shooting brake was sculpted alongside the sedan back in 2009.

"We have a whole different design process when compared to other car companies," he explained. "We designed our three vehicles simultaneously from the beginning of the project -- we believe we save a lot of money and time in doing that. So the Surf was designed a while ago. We designed the four-door with [the thought] in mind that we were going to do the Surf, and [the Karma] was also designed to do a convertible."Therefore, all this was planned all along; nothing about this was an afterthought. And, therefore, it wasn't that difficult to implement it, and it was, in fact, a very cost-efficient vehicle to put on the market. That's why we can make a very good business case with this vehicle, even if we do a very low volume of only two and a half thousand or 3000 a year."

Pratt pointed out evidence of the Surf's very early development. "Take for example, the beltline," he said with his finger pointed at front window's bottom edge. "It leads all the way into the rear quarter panel and kicks up. We designed the Karma this way from the beginning. If we had not created this line as it is in the Karma, it would have been very difficult to design the Surf."Every aluminum and composite body panel from the nose to the D-pillar is identical to the Karma. From there on back is bespoke, although the back bumper is an exact replica of the sedan's piece. To ease loading the segmented 12.7 cubic-foot cargo hold (seats up), and to improve the overall look, the tailgate uses hidden pushrod shocks imbedded into the ceiling. Front and rear bumpers sport Fisker's trademark diamond styling cues in the foglights and "exhaust" area. A new 3D honeycomb grille further differentiates the two Karma-derived cars. In the end, 233 parts are unique to the Surf.

I would go for the Tesla Model S (if I had the money for either). It has more cargo significantly more cargo and passenger room with a sexier shape. The 5 + 2 seating is also intriguing (though probably not very useful in the real world)